The present invention relates to an apparatus for aiding a subject to learn the autogenic training and treat his disease.
In recent years, the autogenic training, developed on the principle of hypnosis, has been widely utilized in clinical applications of psychosomatics. The autogenic training is a method using autohypnosis to remedy and control disorder of the autonomic nervous system due mainly to mental stresses, thereby curing psychosomatic diseases. It was advocated by Dr. Schultze, Germany, and completed by Dr. Luthe, Canada.
The general formula for the autogenic training consists in a subject, who is at ease, subjecting himself to autosuggestion, such as (1) I feel warm in my right hand, (2) my heart is beating very quietly, (3) I am breathing comfortably, (4) I feel warm in or around my stomach, and (5) I feel cool in my forehead, and training himself to assume these mental states, until he becomes autohypnotic. That is, it consists in lowering the conscious level to the unconscious to dispel mental depression.
This method, however, has a fatal defect in that an autosuggested mental state, e.g., "I feel warm in my right hand" results in the active concentration of attention, which contrarily tends to lower the temperature of the right hand: thus, attainment of the expected result of autosuggestion requires the passive concentration of attention, which is regarded as very difficult to attain (refer to "Autogenic Therapy" by Wolfgang Luthe).
The principal object of the invention is to provide an autogenic training and treating apparatus which applies the theory of conditioned reflex to aiding in easily learning the autogenic training, which involves the foregoing difficulty.
Another object of the invention is to provide an autogenic training and treating apparatus adapted to treat a subject's disease, particularly to remove his local pain, thereby remedying lack of psychosomatic coordination.